Multiple organ failure after spontaneous return of circulation in cardiac arrest in children

Abstract

Abstract Objective To assess the frequency of the multiple organ failure and the prognostic value of multiple organ failure scores in children who have recovered from an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Patients and methods A single centre, observational, and retrospective study was conducted on children between 1 month and 16 years old who suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest and achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In the first 24–48 h and between the fifth and the seventh day after ROSC, a record was made of the scores on paediatric severity (PRISM and PIM II) and multiple organ failure scales (PELOD and P-MODS), along with the clinical and analytical data, and including monitoring and treatment, mortality and cause of death. Results Of the total of 41 children studied, 70.7% were male, and the median age was 38 months. The overall mortality during admission was 41.5%, with 14.6% dying in the first 48 h, and 7.6% in the following 3–5 days. In the first 48 h, clinical severity and multiple organ failure scores were higher in the patients that died than in survivors (PRISM 29 vs. 21) p = 0.125, PIM II (26.8% vs. 9.2%) p = 0.02, PELOD (21 vs. 12) p = 0.005, and P-MODS (9 vs. 6) p = 0.001. Between the fifth and seventh day, the scores on the four scales were also higher in patients who died, but only those of the PELOD (20.5 vs. 11) p = 0.002 and P-MODS (6.5 vs. 3) p = 0.003 reached statistical significance. Conclusions Mortality in children after return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest is high. The multiple organ failure after return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest in children is associated with increased mortality.